Sun News Digest

SUN NEWS DIGEST

November 21, 2005

NATIONAL

U.S. not ready for flu pandemic

The United States is unprepared for the next flu pandemic, lacking the manufacturing capacity to provide 300 million doses of a vaccine for three to five more years, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt said yesterday. pg 3a

Bush takes on war policy critics

President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld took on congressional critics of their Iraq war policy yesterday, saying that U.S. troops would remain until Baghdad was ready to take charge and that those calling for a hasty withdrawal were jeopardizing the safety of Americans abroad and at home. pg 6a

WORLD

Sharon to quit Likud Party

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided to quit the ruling Likud Party, which he helped found, and will create a new party to try to win re-election, according to Israel's army radio and public television. pg 1a

8 suspected insurgents die

U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul, Iraq, where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight - some by their own hand to avoid capture. The White House said yesterday that it was "highly unlikely" that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead. pg 9a

MARYLAND

4 Mids are Rhodes scholars

Four members of the Naval Academy were among 32 American students named yesterday as Rhodes scholars, the most chosen in one year in the service academy's history and more than any other college in the nation this year. In addition, two graduates of the same high school in Montgomery County who attend Duke University were selected. pg 1a

3 children killed in city fire

Three children were killed and their parents badly injured in a rowhouse fire early yesterday in Southwest Baltimore. The deaths brought to seven the number of people who have died in dwelling fires in the city since Friday. pg 1b

Study opposes bigger roads

The narrow, curvy and sometimes congested roads that wind through rural northern Baltimore County should be kept the way they are, according to a study to be released today by a Towson-based land preservation group. Consultants hired by the Valleys Planning Council concluded that bigger roads only bring more cars traveling faster. pg 1b

TODAY

New Xbox stands out

The new Microsoft Xbox 360, which comes out tomorrow, is reputedly the most powerful video game system in the world. But Microsoft hopes the 360 will stand out in another way: through its sleek new design that will help the company transfer its high-tech dominance from the computer room to the den. pg 1c

SPORTS

Stewart wins NASCAR title

Tony Stewart won his second NASCAR championship in four years by finishing 15th in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and 35 points ahead of Greg Biffle in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Biffle won the race for the second consecutive year. pg 1d